Stocks close higher than before U.S. debt downgrade

The Dow Jones industrial average has recouped all of its losses since Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States a little more than a week ago.

It rose 213.88 points today to close at 11,482.89. That is 38 points or 0.3 percent higher than it closed on Friday, Aug. 5, several hours before S&P cut the U.S. debt rating from AAA to AA+ and launched a wild ride on Wall Street.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes also have recouped all of last week’s losses, and then some.

All three indexes are still roughly 10 to 12 percent below their 52-week highs set April 29. Excluding dividends, the Dow is down 10.4 percent, the S&P 500 is down 11.7 percent and the Nasdaq is off 11.1 percent.